Today's announcement of 200 jobs at RAF Brize Norton is a great boost for the West Oxfordshire economy. The £410 million contract agreed by the Ministry of Defence secures a key part of the RAF's airlift transport fleet until 2026, continuing our area's important relationship with the RAF.

I am passionate about aviation, the Royal Air Force and our local communities that are so closely intertwined with them in both economic and social terms. The A400M Atlas is a cutting-edge transport aircraft; we are very pleased to have them here in West Oxfordshire. We are very proud of our local airbase and the men and women who serve there. They do a brilliant job and are a huge part of our local identity.

If you would like to learn more, please see the BBC and MoD reports which you can find here: